1. Technical Field
This invention relates to automobile warning systems and, more particularly, to an automated leading-vehicle message warning system for notifying a trailing vehicle of an unsafe traveling condition.
2. Prior Art
As highways and other roadways become more crowded, especially during rush hour periods, the potential for multi-car accidents has increased. Most of these accidents can be attributed to drivers in vehicles not being able to adequately assess how fast the vehicles in front of them are braking. When a driver applies his brakes, other drivers have no way of knowing how forcefully that person is braking. Under the best conditions, it requires excellent depth perception to determine how quickly a car is decelerating. Many rear-end collisions could be prevented with a visual warning system that would allow a driver to accurately determine how fast the vehicle in front of him is braking. Braking warning devices have been described in the art that provide this capability by a variety of different mechanisms. Many of these devices, however, do not provide the degree of resolution to aptly characterize the severity of braking, and in some cases, are susceptible to the vehicle's attitude (i.e. ascending or descending a hill).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,219 to Perez discloses a severe braking warning system for a vehicle wherein the system is designed to measure a vehicle's rate of motion and, upon deceleration of the vehicle, affect the vehicle's brake light circuit by switching it on and off at a pulse rate proportional to the severity of deceleration. The system comprises an accelerometer, a microprocessor (either an integrated unit or the vehicle's existing unit), transistor, and a switch in communication with the vehicle's existing brake light circuit. The inventive brake light warning system provides a supplemental indication to other vehicles traveling behind of the rate of braking, thereby reducing the possibility of rear-end collisions. Unfortunately, this prior art reference does not provide a warning when a trailing vehicle is traveling too closely while maintaining a steady speed on the road.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,211 to Bussard discloses a brake strobe system providing a visual warning system designed to prevent accidents and multi-car pileups. When a driver quickly and forcefully applies his brakes, a strobe light is activated. The harder a driver brakes, the faster and brighter the strobe blinks, thereby warning other drivers of potential hazards. The system also has the ability to brighten or dim the strobe to compensate for weather and day or night driving conditions. It also has the ability to change modes or presets according to the speed of the vehicle. In the event that a car's airbag deploys, the brake strobe system will automatically activate to warn other drivers and alert emergency response personnel. Unfortunately, this prior art reference employed in the existing brake lights may not adequately warn trailing drivers who are not familiar with the system and who may mistake the blinking lights as simply the driver tapping the breaks repeatedly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,411,204 to Bloomfield discloses an anti-collision safety light control for a vehicle including a microprocessor which receives one or more inputs and controls an output of at least one indicator or signaling device in response to the inputs. The microprocessor is continuously powered or energized when the vehicle is in use, such that the indicator may be modulated in situations when the brake pedal of the vehicle is not applied. Preferably, an accelerometer may be included with the safety light system to provide a deceleration signal to the microprocessor, which may determine whether the deceleration is at or above one or more threshold levels and correspondingly modulate the indicator in accordance with the particular threshold level encountered. The microprocessor may modulate the indicator independent of actuation of the brake pedal by a driver of the vehicle. However, this prior art reference does not provide a light-emitting diode message display system that sequentially illuminates selected diodes for generating a warning message to more adequately warn the trailing vehicle.
Accordingly, a need remains for an automated leading-vehicle message warning system in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a system that is convenient and easy to use, is durable yet lightweight in design, is versatile in its applications, and provides a means for greatly reducing the number of rear-end collisions currently plaguing the American roadways. The safety benefits afforded by the present invention can effectively and advantageously be used on cars, trucks and motorcycles, a vast potential market. The system is also connected to the hazard light system or the turn signal which effectively alerts traffic of the presence of the disabled vehicle effectively for safety purposes.